Soft support system for hulls and the like

ABSTRACT

A &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soft&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; support system, preferrably utilizing pneumatic bellows, capable of supporting a ship hull in a relatively level condition on its building foundations or ways during construction and during moving operations; the system uses either a dynamic or a static &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soft&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; support insert between the basic &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;hard&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; foundation supports and the vessel shell; in addition to the preferred pneumatic bellows the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soft&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; support insert could be inter alia a hydraulic, steel or rubber/elastomeric &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;spring&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;; the system in its dynamic mode is capable of raising, lowering or leveling the ship hull, or in minutely positioning hull sections to be joined together during construction operations; the system effectively distributes all loads and reactions between the hull and the foundation or ways thereby tending to eliminate unequal elevations of the foundation or way support locations and tending to nullify hull movement effects due to welding stresses and/or temperature changes, thereby tending to provide a constant support system; during moving operations across the foundations or ways, the constant support system will more nearly allow the horizontal pushing force requirements at each support location to equalize; the preferred embodiment of the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soft&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; support element includes a series of pneumatic bellows units, each unit including a set of three rubber bellows fastened between two opposing plates, the pneumatic pressure in the bellows being variable, system control for the pneumatic pressure can be a simple manual operation or can be highly sophisticated.

[ ]March 20. 1973 Primary Examiner-Jacob Shapiro AND THE LIKEAttorney-C. Emmett Pugh [75] Inventors: Albert V. Deckert Jr. NewOrleans;

Frederick J. Brihkniann, Metairie, [57] ABSTRACT both Of La- A softsupport system, preferrably utilizing pneumatic bellows, capable ofsupporting a ship hull in a [73] Asslgnee' figs gi gggz fig relativelylevel condition on its building foundations or ways during constructionand during moving opera- 2 1970 tions; the system uses either a dynamicor a static soft support insert between the basic hard foundar e t n .1e b M u 0 C 2 46 m wm Ww ima ,1 M F H I 5W6 5 6 C 0 6 375 U 63 U 2 u 8 u"64 m 6, 1mm 6 U ""3 u u "99 O n N G 11 2 0. .1 D. ME A U IF 2 1 2 100 25 55 .1. .l. [.1

United States Patent Deckert, Jr. et al. I

[54] SOFT SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR HULLS [22] Filed:

in addition to the preferred pneumatic bellows the soft support insert ahydraulic, steel or tion supports and the vessel shellaliarubber/elastomeric spring; the system in its dynamic mode is capable ofraising, lowering or leveling the ship hull, or in minutely positioninghull sections to be joined together during construction operations; thesystem effectively distributes all loads and reactions between the hulland the foundation or ways thereby 5 References Cited tending toeliminate unequal elevations of the foundation or way support locationsand tending to nullify UNITED STATES PATENTS hull movement effects dueto welding stresses and/or temperature changes, thereby tending toprovide a constant support system; during moving operations across thefoundations or ways, the constant support system will more nearly allowthe horizontal pushing 61/66 force requirements ateach support locationto equal- ..148/350 X ize; the preferred embodiment of the soft supportelement includes a series of pneumatic bellows units, each unitincluding a set of three rubber bellows fastened between two opposingplates, the pneumatic pressure in the bellows being variable, systemcontrol Slims/22 x et al.

DeBolt." Headley.. Nelson.... 966 May........ 967

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS for the pneumatic pressure can be asimple manual .....6l/45.1 operation or can be highly sophisticated.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 223,312 11/1958Australiam..................... 250,689 0/1926 Great Britain......

INTEGRATION AREA MODULAR ASSEMBLY AREA 'SHEET 10F 4 HYDRAULIC SUPPLYPATENTEDMARZO I975 INTEGRATION AREA MODULAR ASSEMBLY AREA FIG. 88.

FIG. 8A,

FIG. 80.

FIG. 8C.

INVENTORS AL'BERT V. DECKERT JR. FREDERICK J. BRINKMANN BY 6M? 1% ATTORN'Pmmm zolsis 3,721,096 I SHEET 2 [IF 4 INVENTORS ALBERT V DECKERT,JR.FREDERICK J BRINKMANN ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAR20 1975 SHEET 3 BF 4 I NVENTORS ALBERT V. DECKERT, JR. FREDERICK J. BRINKMANN BY 6" {Mair/Z ZATTORNEY PATENTEUMARZO I973 SHEET 0F 4 FIG. 3.

FIG. 4.

AIR SUPPLY Rm B W Ma T ORK mmm a B V N V M Tm RE $5 xmd Y B ATTORNEYSOFT SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR HULLS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a soft or resilient support system forload leveling, positioning, cushioning and equalizing stresses for shiphulls and other extremely heavy structures and the like, which systemcan be either dynamic or static.

In the particular application described, the present invention providesa unique system for supporting ship hulls during construction or duringhull movement or positioning of the hull horizontally and/or vertically.The system of the present invention gives continuous, resilient supportto ship hulls during construction similar to or approaching naturalflotation, thereby eliminating any high localized stresses at supportlocations. The invention also permits horizontal movement over irregularbuilding surfaces or ways without causing high, localized stresses onhull or foundations and further allows linear and differential verticalmovement for positioning hulls or parts of hulls and for transfer of ahull from longitudinal to transverse ways or vice-versa. Either adynamic system, using external means such as air or hydraulic pressure,may be used, or a static resilient system (elastic material) may beused, use of either system being dependent upon application. Any degreeof manual or automatic controls may be employed to regulate or positionthe supported loads of a dynamic system.

The technique of the prior art now being used for building ship hullsand the like are remnants of ancient ship building practices of startingwith a member leveled with wedges and building thereon. The resultantvariations in foundation elevations as the loads were increased duringbuilding were considered a part of the building process and usuallyignored. Also, heretofore a ship was usually built in one location andlaunced directly from that location. Now, however, competition in theindustry forced other methods to be tried and used, and an assembly-linetype of construction of ship hulls began where portions of hulls wereconstructed in various locations and brought together to be joined intoa single jull. The assembled hull was then brought to a launch position.

i The usual methods of bull support that evolved through the years wereemployed over new horizontal land structures installed to support thehull and hull sections in building and moving. Particular difficultieswere encountered in moving the heavy masses horizontally and inpositioning the various hull sections to be joined. Unless the landstructures over which the loads traveled were perfectly even and did notdeflect or change position in relation to one another, and unless thehull was in perfect alignment and not distorted due to temperaturedifferential or welding stresses, high, localized stresses occurred onhull support components and land structures at their high points andhighly uneven horizontal push forces, resulting in numerous problemsincluding lost time and component failures. Also, in joining theportions of hulls, the exact positioning of the section was an arduoustask ofjacking, straining, and wedging, requiring much time and skill.

The present invention provides a soft", resilient support elementlocated between the hard" hull support members and the hard" landstructures, thereby providing an element to cushion and to tend toequalize the loads and reactions which occur in a building position orduring moving operations, providing more nearly equalized horizontalpush-load requirements at 5 each push location during moving operations.In its dynamic mode, the present invention can also provide leveling andpositioning of loads in elevation, pitch, and roll, this beingespecially useful in joining sections of hulls or changing direction ofhorizontal hull movements. The control of the elevation, pitch and rollof a dynamic system utilizing compressed air or hydraulics can be simplymanual or combined with automatic components.

The support system of the present invention for hulls and the like canbe divided into two basic modes of operation, static and dynamic; andeach of these again divided into two basic divisions, one positionbuilding and multi-position building requiring movement.

a. The static system, single building position mode would use steel orelastomeric springs of suitable deflection characteristics to cushionand equalize the loads and reactions between hull and land structuresdue to inequities in alignment, or to hull movement and/or deflection,thereby assuring protection to the hull, support components, and supportstructure.

b. The static system, multi-position building mode would use steel orelastomeric springs as in (a) above and would provide the above featuresin addition to 30 equalizing the loads over emmense land structuresduring moving operations. c. The dynamic system, single buildingposition mode would use pneumatic or hydraulic devices to provideresults as above in (a) in addition to better equalization of reactionsdue to bull or land structure movements or inequalities.

d. The dynamic system, multi-position building mode would use pneumaticor hydraulic devices as in (c) above and would provide all the abovefeatures in (a), (b), and (c) in addition to positioning capabilities.

The above listed four exemplary basic modes of course do not precludeother modes or combinations of these modes.

The static system requires no outside power or system controls; thedynamic systems do require some outside source of pressure and at leasta basic control system for control.

The preferred embodiment of this invention uses the mode of operationlisted in (d) above, using a pneumatic device to provide for ease ofcontrol and use of a usually ready source of plant compressed air. Thepneumatic device considered here is a commercially available reinforcedrubber bellows or pillow capable of the pressures necessary to supportthe required loads.

As noted above, the present invention has particular value as applied toa method or system to aid in evenly distributing the load of a ship ontoits building foundations or ways and of leveling or changing theposition of sections of vessels to be joined together duringconstruction. Such methods have become increasingly important to theshipbuilding industry as larger and larger vessels have beenconstructed, and as existing building foundations or ways have becomemore uneven because of these heavier loadings, thereby causingdifficulties in moving hulls from one building position to another andwhere hull loads transmitted to the foundations must be maintained notto exceed a certain limit.

The magnitude of the situation can be better understood with therealization that whole ship hulls, shell structures or sections thereof,weighing thousands of tons, must be moved horizontally across extensiveland structures (building ways) to various building positions orlocations, particularly in the assembly-line method of ship constructionwhich is now being practiced in the industry.

Heretofore, the basic system for distributing and leveling the load inany given building position that has been used in the industry has beena series of wedges between the fixed timber or steel supports or cradlesupon which the vessel rides. However, each such support or cradleconstituted individually a hard" support, i.e. one which had little orno resiliency or variability to it. Thus a support was either in fullcontact with the load and hence carried its full load, or it was out ofcontact and carried no-load, there being little or no flexibility to it.

Because of the hard support nature of the prior art systems, manydifficulties have arisen. Particularly when the vessel shell structureor portions thereof are attempted to be moved horizontally across theland structures or building ways in the assembly-line method ofconstruction, alternate light and severe push loads were oftenencountered at support locations because of varying reaction forces.Although it would be physically possible to overdesign the pushing jacksmoving the structure horizontally to be able to overcome the heavyloads, an arrangement to provide for such a wide load fluctuation ishighly undesirable.

It has been determined by observation and by elevation readings beforeand when the load was applied that this condition is caused bydifferential loading along a building way and between adjacent ways,stemming apparently from the following primary causes:

I. Differential elevation and/or subsidence along and between ways; and

2. Inability of the hull to conform to the inequalities of thefoundation elevations; and

3. Certain hull movements and distortions due to welding stresses and todifferential temperatures changes in the hull structure.

This unequal distribution of loads results in bearing pressures on someways far above the way design loads, causing structural failure of theway members in some instances and increasing friction loads on thoseways which are carrying all or part of the load intended to be borne byan adjacent way, which is then in a sense taking a free ride.

In addition to the above-mentioned undesirable conditions, the slidetimber on the lightened way has in some instances been pushed by thejacks in relation to the cradles, leaving a portion of the ship withoutsupport and requiring repositioning of the shifted members. Attemptshave been made to remedy this condition in some applications byinstalling struts from the jacking head of the slide timber to a bearingplate on the hull. While this has been successful in preventingdifferential timber movement, there are undesirable side effects such asoverloading the hull shell on a relatively small area and the verticalcomponent of the reaction from the strut forcing the jacking head downagainst the surface plate on the ways, causing gouging and increasingresistance to pushing.

While these side effects may be eliminated or reduced by modification ofthe strut ends, it becomes apparent that a system of maintaining uniformunit loads over the entire area of ways under the load would completelyeliminate the entire problem.

In addition to uneven building ways, the hull structure wants to assumea different shape longitudinally as temperature differentials may affectthe top and bottom and as welding stresses are introduced into thestructure, making it bend slightly in one direction or another. Thedeflections due to temperature is temporary and variable; thedeflections due to welding stresses are permanent. These movementsaffect the reaction forces and cause localized stress on supportseffected.

Systems of supplemental support jacks and/or wedges have also beenproposed to help level out the inequalities of the building ways, butthese would require constant attention as the hull moves across theuneven ways, a perhaps workable system, but ardous in control. Moreover,each of the systems of jacks or wedges again involve individually hardsupports.

The present invention, on the other hand, contemplates instead the useof a series of soft" supports, i.e., ones which can carry any variationor degree of the load as desired. The present invention in the preferredembodiment achieves this by in effect inserting a series of pneumaticspring units, whose tensions preferably can easily, completely andindividually be varied, between the load and each support.

The system of the present invention distributes the load of the shiponto the building foundation or ways more evenly and eliminates hardspots that would tend to bind and retard motion during movingoperations, or prevent the overload of support members and theirpossible failure.

A basic advantage of the present invention over the prior art is theprovision of a soft, resilient, spring-like structure support systemthat naturally tends to offer some measure of support irrespective ofvariations in way elevation, hull distortion, or air pressure.

The present invention achieves this soft" or spring support by severaltypes of systems among which are:

a. direct acting pneumatic bellows manifolded to a source of airpressure through regulators (the preferred embodiment);

b. direct acting hydraulic jacks or hydraulic jack operated wedgesmanifolded to multiple central hydraulic systems with accumulators;

c. actual, large heavy duty steel springs; and

d. large, heavy duty rubber or elastomeric springs.

Of the systems of the present invention, the direct acting pneumaticbellows system using standard plant air pressure as a power source isthe most workable and easily controllable system, is considered thepreferred embodiment and hence will be described in detail.

The usual availability of plant air pressure and ease of control throughregulating air supply pressures to the bellows greatly enhances thegreat value of the preferred embodiment. The pneumatic system comparesfavorably with the advantages of the other systems of the presentinvention but in addition has the advantages of simplicity, practicallyfrictionless operation, ready power source (plant air), ability tomeasure actual loads, and ease of control.

The present system unlike the prior art gives continu ous resilientsupport to ship hulls and sections during construction thereof similarto natural buoyancy or flotation. It allows horizontal movement overirregular building surfaces or ways without causing high, localizedstresses on the hulls, support components, or the support members. Itfurther allows linear and differential vertical movement for positionhulls or sections and for easy transfer of a hull from one set of waysto the other. It also allows distortional movements of the hull shellwithout overloading the foundations or the shell itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anassembly-line type shipbuilding facility wherein the present inventioncan be applied to particular advantage;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the support system of the presentinvention as applied to a ship being moved across ways;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are side and top, plan views, respectively, of a supportunit of the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are side, cross-sectional and top, plan views,respectively of a pneumatic bellow which can be used in the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a pneumatic, manually operated controlsystem which can be used in the present invention; and

FIGS. 8A 8D are generalized representations of alternative types ofsoft" or resilient spring or support elements which can be used in thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Because of the need toeconomizein shipbuilding, the shipbuilding industry has been adoptingthe technique of continuous, assembly-line fabrication of ships. Anexample of the adoption of this technique is found in the Ingallsshipbuilding facility of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, aportion of which is generally illustrated in FIG. 1.

In this technique preliminary preparation of the materials andsubassembly work is done in a continuous process (note arrows). As shownin FIG. 1, the subassemblies are welded together into complete sectionsor modules 1 of the ship being built. Each module 1, in this instanceweighing 1,500 to 2,100 tons, is moved down the longitudinal buildingways or tracks 2 as it is being completed. Upon completion of eachmodule section 1, the modules 1 are brought into the lateral buildingways or tracks 3 to the integration area and mated together to form thecompleted ship 4. To launch the ship 4, now approximately 92 percentcomplete, it is moved on lateral and longitudinal building ways ortracks onto the launch pontoon 5. After replacing the wingwalls 6, thelaunch pontoon 5 is moved into the ship channel and submerged, launchingthe ship 4.

As is apparent, a great deal of moving and position ing of extremelyheavy (hundreds and thousands of tons) objects is involved in thistechnique. It is in this moving and positioning of these extremely heavyobjects (ships, module sections and the like) that the support system ofthe present invention is applied.

As is well known in the art, horizontal movement of these heavy loadscan be accomplished by sliding action (a slide member on a lubricatedway member) or by some force of rolling action (roller bearings orwheeled members). Horizontal push forces are applied to each transverseor longitudinal support member to effect the horizontal movement; thenature and application of these forces are dependent on the users cho-As illustrated in FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment of the support systemof the present invention as applied to an extremely heavy object such asa ship 4 comprises a series of sof or resilient supports 7 including arow of pneumatic air bellows 8 situated between the top of each slidetimber 9 of the building ways 2 3 and the bottom of each hull cradle 10.Although only three sets of soft supports 7 are illustrated forsimplicity sake, in actual practice a full set of soft or resilientsupports 7 would be used at each way or support location.

The soft or resilient supports 7 can be provided in basic units 11 ofthree bellows 8 each (note FIGS. 3 and 4), capped top and bottom withsteel plates 12 and 13, respectively. As it is necessary that the facesof the bellows 8 be separated by at least 3 A inches when in a closedposition, 2 inch high bumper blocks 14 on the inside face of each plateare provided.

The bottom plate 13 is edge drilled for air supply to each bellow 8,while rim bolt holes 15 for attaching the bellows 8 to the plates 12 and13 are countersunk to present a smooth outside surface. The bellows 8are strong enough to support the weight of one plate when suspended bythe other plate. The bellows are also strong enough to withstandrelatively high air pressures without load or restraint, however thisprocedure is not recommended as the bellows 8 could be damaged andappropriate maximum pressure restraints should be provided for safety.

The flexible body 16 of the circular pneumatic bellows 8 can be of anylon-tire-cord reinforced rubber such as neoprene, a suitablecommercial bellows being sold under the trademark Airmount" (Model No.211-A) by the Firestone Industrial Rubber Products Co. Each bellows 8,as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, includes a metal mounting or bead rim17 with mounting bolts 18 at its top and bottom for attachment to theplates 12 and 13. In the event any bellows is damaged or otherwise madeunusable, it can be removed and another inserted at any time by removingthe bolts 18 holding the rim 17 to the plates 12 13.

Suitable dimensions of the bellows 8 for this application areapproximately 9 inches in height and 28 inches in diameter when expandedto working elevation. The bellows 8 have varying load capacity withvarying air pressure with high capacity at high air pressures and lowcapacity at low air pressures. As is true of bellows in general,external means may be employed for greater lateral stability.

The pneumatic bellows are relatively maintenance free and frictionlessin operation. Minor leaks in the air system are of small consequence,particularly when air supply exceeds leak rate. Bellows life should belong (l years service is anticipated); however, physical damage to thebellows in this environment must be considered in the total lifepicture.

In order to control the positioning of the load, for example ship 4, apneumatic pressure control system can be used (note FIG. 7). Smallgroups of air bellows 8 on each building way, for example two to sixunits 11, are individually manifolded to a suitable supply of airpressure which can be manually regulated. The total support forces canbe regulated on each building way or on portions of a way. The hull 4can be lifted or lowered or tilted as required through coordinatedcontrol of the air supplies at each way or support. During movingoperation, the unevenness of the ways are absorbed by the combinedbending of the slide timber 2 3 and the flexibility of the pneumaticbellows 8, and constant support forces can be attained by manualregulation of air pressures to the bellows 8 during this operation.

When the vessel 4 is in a building position, wedges or other adjustablesupport devices such as jacks or other hard supports can be inserted tosupport the loads, and the bellows 8 can be deflated to a few poundspressure to effect a soft-skin condition. This soft-skin condition willhelp guard against accidental puncture of the rubber material 16.

The supplemental support by wedges, etc. and reductions of air pressureto a soft-skin condition is not necessary, but is an option of the user.A continuously inflated system does have the advantage of continuouslyequalizing changing loads transmitted to the supports or foundationsduring building, e.g., those due to hull distortions caused bytemperature changes or welding stresses. In this instance however thebellows 8 are inflated and pressure regulated as required for lifts orpositioning and during moving operations, but during static buildingoperations the pressure in the bellows is reduced to a few pounds toeffect the soft-skin condition.

Most shipyards have air pressure systems already as part of theirfacilities, these systems normally being of the order of I00 200 psi.The bellows 8 of the present invention work well on the 100 psi in theinstance described and hence usually require no additional pressuresource. However, if the basic plant pressure is below or only near thebellows operating point, supplemental compressors can be used. Adequateair pressure should be provided because a pressure reserve is necessaryfor the system to maintain positive system control. If a lower airpressure is used, additional bellows will be required as the loadcapacity is a directly related foundation of the pressure. Greaterlifting capacity is of course achieved by increasing the number ofbellows 8, or increasing the working pressure.

Control of the lifting, lowering and leveling of the load can beachieved by a manual operation with manned control locations at eachcradle 10, or building way or support 2 3. Each control location canconsist of an air piping manifold including valves, gauges, and airpressure regulators. Central control and coordination of the wholepneumatic operation can be accomplished through walkie-talkiecommunications to each cradle or support control location.

When a load is ready to be moved, the bellows 8 are pressured and theload raised from any physical support, which is then removed or loweredto provide clearance for the move across the uneven ways or supports 23.

As the move progresses, it is anticipated that each cradle or supportcontrol station be manned and the air 5 pressures on each manifold bekept as closely as possible to the design pressure in order to bestequalize the reaction forces transmitted to the slide timbers, and tomaintain the load in as level a condition as possible. Although a simplemanual system of control has been indicated, any degree ofsophistication of control can be achieved through many presentlyavailable pneumatic instrumentation components.

As is apparent, the ease of control of the soft or resilient springsystem of the present invention for moving, raising and lowering ishighly desirable and advantageous. Indeed the systems ability to tiltthe load in elevation, pitch or roll to match up sections beingassembled together is unique.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference tothe moving and positioning of ships and hull sections, its generalapplication for lateral movement of any large masses involving loads ofhundreds and thousands of tons over land structures is ex- 25 cellent.Moreover, although a particular air bag is described in detail, otherresilient or soft support members might be used such as a hydraulicspring (FIG. 8A), a steel spring (FIG. 8B) or a rubber or elastomericspring (FIG. 8C) or a different form of air spring (FIG. 8D).

The static embodiments of FIGS. 88 and 8C have a counter-reaction to aload (communicated through plate 12) proportional to their deflections,this being a physical property of the support material. The dynamicembodiments of FIGS. 8A and 8D can of course give support reactionssimilar to that of FIGS. 8B and 8C when their fluid medium is static.However, when the internal fluid pressure or volume is changed throughexternal means, the support reactions also change as well as the supportelevations.

Because many varying and different embodiments may be made within thescope of the inventive concept herein taught, and because manymodifications may be made in the embodiment herein detailed inaccordance with the description requirements of the law, it is to beunderstood that the details herein are to be interpreted merely asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as invention is:

l. A pneumatic support system for supporting and/or moving a heavy load,as for example a ship hull or the like, in the ambient comprising:

a series of support unit means dispersed between the heavy load and theground for supporting at least part of said heavy load and forequalizing forces occuring in the static supporting, positioning andhorizontal moving of said heavy load; each of said support unit meanscomprising a hard, rigid upper load-bearing member upon which said loadis, at least indirectly, partially carried, said upper member having alower, downwardlydirected facing surface having a multiple number offacing areas thereon;

a hard, rigid, lower, load-bearing member, resting at least indirectlyupon the ground, said lower member having an upper, upwardly-directedfacing surface having a multiple number of facing areas thereon whichare located opposite the corresponding facing areas of said uppermember, said upper and said lower load-bearing members being twoopposed, flat plates disposed in at least a generally parallelrelationship;

a multiple number of soft", pneumatic support elements dispersed betweenand fixedly attached to said upper and lower load-bearing members at andbetween their opposing facing areas, said support elements serving totransmit the load from said upper to said lower load-bearing member,said soft, pneumatic support elements comprising pneumatic air bag meansfor variably and continuously equalizing any variations in the appliedload between said support unit means and for changing the relativepositioning of the upper and lower load-bearing members, said pneumaticair bags being generally cylindrical in configuration and completelyopen at both ends, said load-bearing members being flat at said facingareas and closing off the ends of said air bags to create a closed,inner, air-tight system with said air bags.

2. The support system of claim 1 wherein said air bags are fixedlyattached to said upper and lower loadbearing members by means of aseries of rim bolts placed about and through the facing periphery ofsaid air bag and bolted securely into said upper and lower load-bearingmembers, whereby a defective air bag can be readily and easily removedand replaced while that support unit is still supporting the heavy load.

3. The support system of claim 1 wherein said flat plates each havedisposed thereon opposing bumper plates for limiting the amount ofminimum spacing between the plates to protect the air bags fixedtherebetween.

4. The support system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said platesincludes integrally within it an air supply line feeding into saidclosed, inner, air-tight system.

5. The support system of claim I wherein there is further includeddynamic fluid means attached to said air bags for independently andindividually varying the load-carrying characteristics of said series ofsupport units, said dynamic fluid means comprising a pneumatic pressurecontrol system.

1. A pneumatic support system for supporting and/or moving a heavy load,as for example a ship hull or the like, in the ambient comprising: aseries of support unit means dispersed between the heavy load and theground for supporting at least part of said heavy load and forequalizing forces occuring in the static supporting, positioning andhorizontal moving of said heavy load; each of said support unit meanscomprising a hard, rigid upper load-bearing member upon which said loadis, at least indirectly, partially carried, said upper member having alower, downwardly-directed facing surface having a multiple number offacing areas thereon; a hard, rigid, lower, load-bearing member, restingat least indirectly upon the ground, said lower member having an upper,upwardly-directed facing surface having a multiple number of facingareas thereon which are located opposite the corresponding facing areasof said upper member, said upper and said lower load-bearing membersbeing two opposed, flat plates disposed in at least a generally parallelrelationship; a multiple number of ''''soft'''', pneumatic supportelements dispersed between and fixedly attached to said upper and lowerload-bearing members at and between their opposing facing areas, saidsupport elements serving to transmit the load from said upper to saidlower load-bearing member, said ''''soft'''', pneumatic support elementscomprising pneumatic air bag means for variably and continuouslyequalizing any variations in the applied load between said support unitmeans and for changing the relative positioning of the upper and lowerload-bearing members, said pneumatic air bags being generallycylindrical in configuration and completely open at both ends, saidloadbearing members being flat at said facing areas and closing off theends of said air bags to create a closed, inner, air-tight system withsaid air bags.
 2. The support system of claim 1 wherein said air bagsare fixedly attached to said upper and lower load-bearing members bymeans of a series of rim bolts placed about and through the facingperiphery of said air bag and bolted securely into said upper and lowerload-bearing members, whereby a defective air bag can be readily andeasily removed and replaced while that support unit is still supportingthe heavy load.
 3. The support system of claim 1 wherein said flatplates each have disposed thereon opposing bumper plates for limitingthe amount of minimum spacing between the plates to protect the air bagsfixed therebetween.
 4. The support system of claim 1 wherein at leastone of said plates includes integrally within it an air supply linefeeding into said closed, inner, air-tight system.
 5. The support systemof claim 1 wherein there is further included dynamic fluid meansattached to said air bags for independently and individually varying theload-carrying characteristics of said series of support units, saiddynamic fluid means comprising a pneumatic pressure control system.